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Saturday 16 July 2022

Ian O'Rourke Memories of a Tractor Man


Front Cover
I am pleased to announce that former Ford Tractor Operations, National Service Manager, Ian O’Rourke has completed writing his memoir and I am pleased to say it's a bloody great read. Following his life as a kid growing up on a soldier settlement block in South Western, New South Wales he could never imagined where life would take him. Still sharp as a tack, Ian who will be 90 next year, will readily admit that his computer skills are limited persisted with writing stories from his larger than life past. A task that has taken over twelve months, a huge accomplishment for anyone.

Beginning with childhood memories and his early working life, Ian offers the reader an insight into inner sanctum of the operation of the Ford Motor Company’s Australian tractor division. Of interest to tractor people is the stories about his team’s input into model development with both the USA and European design teams.

Ian and Gwennie O'Rourke on their
wedding day with friend and
colleague Noel Howard
In telling the story of the tractor that should have never been, Ford Australia’s 8401, Ian lets us know about the tensions that existed within the upper echelon of Ford management and how one man almost caused a clean out of the Australian Management team.

Ian in his memorabilia corner
signing a copy of his book
Told with laconic Aussie humour and candour Ian’s story will keep the reader entertained to the very end










 

 

Monday 18 May 2020

How to Prospect for More Tractor and Machinery Sales

A lot of years ago I wrote a training manual for salespeople, one of the first elements covered prospecting for new clients. As this was directed toward the tractor industry and with a good season before us, I thought I'd share I'd share the chapter on PROSPECTING as I'm convinced everyone will benefit from a little revision even if they choose to do only one thing covered by the text.

PROSPECTING

Prospecting can be the most daunting task a sales person can perform. It is not easy but if you want more success from your selling, then it is very important that the habit of prospecting becomes part of your everyday routine.
The best way to overcome any fear you may experience is to break the prospecting task into smaller pieces. To understand the process better, and make the whole operation easier to manage. While we are doing this we will record our progress in order to measure any increase in our performance
I think of the procedure in simple terms that easily identify the components that are "Prospecting"

1.      Suspects
A suspect is an individual, organisation or government agency that you believe may have a need for a product that you sell. These suspects can be found anywhere, the phone book, debtors' ledger, family, friends, acquaintances, golf club, 'Honour Roll' etc, in fact anywhere that you can get a name and contact number or address.

Exercise 1.
·         Find three names in your local phone book and list them with their contact number and address.
Okay that wasn’t too hard and best of all you now have five more possible sales. All you need do is talk to them and identify any need that you can fill.
The next part of this process is to prepare for the call. Have ready a reliable pen, contact pad, a list of the products that you sell, a list of your colleagues.
We are now going to call these people and identify if these suspects can become prospects.


2.      Prospects
Prospects are suspects you have contacted and are going to buy something that sell, or something that competes with what you sell one day.

Ten points to practice when prospecting by phone:

1.      Start with a clear desk.
2.      Use a good pen
3.      Write the name and number at the top of the page.
4.      Have a glass of water handy.
5.      Make sure that you have an easy to read list of your products in reach.
6.      Take a couple of deep breaths,
7.      Smile when you Dial
8.      Introduce yourself and your company
9.      Ask if the person has a few minutes to talk to you.
10.  Tell them your purpose.
Remember these first calls will always be the most difficult but as with anything the more you practice the better you get and the easier this will become

Exercise 2.

·         Write the contact details at the top of the pad SMILE and DIAL.
A study done many years ago proved that smiling before you speak projects a relaxed and confident voice to the listener.
·         Remember we want to find out what we can about our suspects' needs and at the same time remain polite and courteous.
·          Be confident, you are good with people and you are here to serve the customer.

When this is completed review your results. What was the strike rate?
·         Did you find anyone who was abusive?
·         Did you find someone who needed your product now?
·         Did you find a client needing something in the future?
·         Were you able to make an appointment to see the prospect?
·         Did they refer you to someone that they knew who is in the market?
·         How many were not at home?
·         How many were dead?

From the five calls, if you had one person say they were going to buy something in the future
you have scored a twenty-percent strike rate.  Not Bad!

Phone prospecting can probably deliver one qualified prospect for every five calls and if you were lucky enough or rather skilled enough to get a referral, that’s even better.

Referrals
Throughout your life you will get to know many people. If they can tell you of someone they know who may be in the market for some of your products, this is known as a referral. Successful sales people are experts at soliciting referral clients and have often built their careers around a good referral business.
It is reasonable to assume if you have been ethical in your dealings with your customers and they have enjoyed dealing with you they will recommend you to their friends. Be sure that if they do this you are able to reward them in some way.
The use of spotter's fees to reward referees is common practice within our industry. If you have developed excellent relationships with your customers and they trust you to treat their friends the same way these rewards may not be necessary. When rewarding a contact for a lead, set yourself apart from your competitors by doing something more creative. You may want to try thanking the person giving you the tip with a small gift, a bunch of flowers, a weekend holiday, or tickets to a show etc, this type of reward will often do just as well.
The point is, make sure that you do recognise the person putting you forward to their friends and then deal with them professionally, with integrity. They will then feel confident in putting you forward to their friends when they want to buy.
To make sure that you can be easily found, give out your business card freely and keep in touch with your old clients, ask them for referrals and reward them when you are successful. These rewards should happen the same day that the product is delivered and payment made. Remember that the longer it takes you to reward, the longer it will take to get the next referral.
It is also important to keep a balance in the reward size. If someone offers you a lead that results in a big sale with lots of margin, then they can expect a bigger reward than if they had offered a lead on a much smaller deal. Keep it in perspective.

As many dealerships pay spotters fees they should be passed on as promised and if you feel inclined to add to it, then you begin to set yourself apart from the competition.

Cold Canvassing
Like phone prospecting Cold Canvass is another effective method of finding prospects. What is cold canvassing? It is sometimes referred to as cold calling and is often done by politicians at election time.
How can it help you?
1.      You meet the suspect face to face and there is an immediate chemistry between you and, good or bad, it will set a more focused tone to the meeting.
2.      It gives you the opportunity to see the suspects in their own habitat and you will observe their buying tastes reflected by the assets that they have assembled.
3.      Farm machinery sales people have used this method of prospecting successfully for many years because of the previous point. They are able to observe the farming practices and preferences of the suspect, therefore they have a head start on what the farmer may need.
4.      It takes practice and time management to cold canvass efficiently but it will reward you with results when properly executed.
As you develop these prospecting skills, you will record a valuable amount of data that will be the source of sales leads over your whole career.

In summary.

THE NUMBER OF SALES YOU MAKE IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONATE TO THE                    NUMBER OF PEOPLE YOU TALK TO.
Some of the habits that will help you to become more successful in selling can be developed through a continual desire to keep prospecting.

1.      Make list of suspects to call every day.
2.      Make at least 10 phone prospecting calls each day.
3.      Give your business cards to friends to circulate among their associates.
4.      Smile when you talk to people, but don’t force it, be natural.
5.      Be prepared to offer assistance when you don’t have the product that the customer wants.

6.      Talk to the people in your business that have customer contact for prospect leads.
7.      Involve your partner, often they will have contacts in fields that are foreign to you.
8.      Keep a tidy work area that is well set up and easy to use.
9.      Be pro active about your personal appearance. Offer the customer confidence.
10.  Don’t be tempted to say "trust me"

If we assume that in a typical day you find five new prospects and you work at least 250 days per year, you will have found 1250 new sales opportunities a year, even more if you can crank up the prospecting to twenty a day.

As I said earlier, break big tasks into small steps and this will make sure that you succeed in achieving your sales goals.

Prospecting Systems
We have started to build a list of names or a data bank of people - this is your prospect file. In this data bank you have stored knowledge about their buying preferences, etc, and you know how to contact them. If you have been careful in your recording of this data you will have logged their future buying details. This becomes another treasure chest of opportunity.
Companies use varying types of prospecting systems such as electronics, card systems or a diary. However, for a prospecting system to work properly you must keep the data detailed, accurate and current. Know where your old customers are, how to contact them, what their preferences are. Most of all know their buying habits and when they are likely to be in the market again.

For example, when delivering the new product, congratulate them on the purchase, thank them for their business and ask them when you might help them again. Then when you have left them, write the information in your prospect file.

If you work for a large organisation you may have the resources of a call centre that has supplied you with already qualified prospects and this is very helpful, but you must maintain the data that comes from your contacts with these people.
At the end of the day, prospecting is your responsibility. You benefit most from detailed recording and so you must be aware that this responsibility lies only with you. You may ask someone to manage it for you, but your effectiveness depends on accurate recording and review.
So how will we operate this prospecting system? Let's use a simple diary system as an example. From your phone prospecting, you have found a client who has told you that he and his wife want to buy a new car. They are undecided on which one exactly, but want to take delivery next June prior to the close of the next financial year and when the current lease expires.
You have also determined through your conversation, that they want a six cylinder rear wheel drive that can haul a 1500 kg trailer. They wish to carry five people in comfort and, although they haven't fully decided on a budget, they would like it to be better that the standard version, and probably electric blue.

Research how long it will take to source a car of similar specification and decide when to next contact them.
Then transpose all of these details to the day page in your diary that allows enough time to make a deal and order a car in time to meet their requirements.
On the day, phone or call on them to renew the contact and go over their needs. If you have qualified them properly you are well on the way to making a sale.
Electronic and card systems are similar but usually hold more detail. An early cry of the computer Industry was "Junk In, Junk Out" so take time with your entries as it is you who is relying on the accuracy.
Your employer may have an in-house system that provides a prospecting list and you may choose or be instructed to use it. If that is company policy you must use it, but selling is a competitive business and you may benefit by keeping your own system running in tandem.

To re-cap

·         Prospecting is not easy and demands discipline.
·         Plan your prospecting.
·         Smile, in fact smile a lot, as most people like to do business with cheerful people.
·         Be friendly and polite.
·         Detail all of your contacts.
·         Qualify, Qualify, Qualify, (this will save you time in the long run)
·         Treat the customer with respect, the client believes they are the most important part of this deal as without them there is no deal.
·         Note down all key indicators about their preferences.
·         Read your notes and correct to maintain accuracy.
·         Review and prioritise your prospect details daily.
·         Record any changes.
·         Keep your own records.

If you develop a routine for phone prospecting at the same time each day, you will find that it will become easy, second nature and time efficient. Do the same with reviewing your prospect file and your day will take on some structure. Everything you do using the same daily routine will become geared toward better sales results and therefore you will make more money and achieve the life style you desire.











Tuesday 12 May 2020

Something different about Tractors

Sometimes when you type tractors into your search engine things like this pop into your feed to lighten your day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlJS3z1RQnE

#thetractors
#farming
#writing

Wednesday 6 May 2020

Natural Pest Control For Horticulture

With everyone now subjected to lock down laws due to Covid-19, is it an opportunity to explore what others are doing to combat the increase of manufactured pesticides? Here is one way a South African vineyard is approaching eliminating snail infestation. 


https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6Ehoxu9QY8

#farming
#superducks
#horticulture
#vineyards
#alternativelifestyle
#wine
#grapegrower
#naturalfarming

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Monday 27 April 2020

Sonalika Tractor Manufacturing

Something new in the International tractor industry, this is a company I knew nothing about until researching the industry today. I will post another piece on them when I have had time to discover more.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-tPTIwVok

Saturday 25 April 2020

Lamborghini Original


During my time as a sales rep I spent some time with Inlon and they are the Australian Distributors for Lamborghini Trattori at the time. This is an interesting film from Jay Leno's Garage.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wjL7lDtxW8